diff --git a/.env.example b/.env.example
index e85f277..e1cacb9 100644
--- a/.env.example
+++ b/.env.example
@@ -4,6 +4,13 @@
 # Copy this file to .env and update with your actual values
 # Never commit real credentials to version control
 
+# =============================================================================
+# DOCKER CONFIGURATION
+# =============================================================================
+#different options for the home directory e.g. Ubuntu set to /home/ubuntu, set to /opt for mac would require sudo during installation
+APP_HOME=/opt
+# APP_HOME=/home/ubuntu
+
 # =============================================================================
 # REGISTRY CONFIGURATION
 # =============================================================================
diff --git a/docker-compose.yml b/docker-compose.yml
index e844ba1..da57016 100644
--- a/docker-compose.yml
+++ b/docker-compose.yml
@@ -41,11 +41,11 @@ services:
       - "443:443"
       - "7860:7860"
     volumes:
-      - ${HOME}/mcp-gateway/servers:/app/registry/servers
-      - ${HOME}/mcp-gateway/models:/app/registry/models
-      - ${HOME}/mcp-gateway/logs:/app/logs
-      - ${HOME}/mcp-gateway/auth_server/scopes.yml:/app/auth_server/scopes.yml
-      - ${HOME}/mcp-gateway/ssl:/etc/ssl:ro
+      - ${APP_HOME}/mcp-gateway/servers:/app/registry/servers
+      - ${APP_HOME}/mcp-gateway/models:/app/registry/models
+      - ${APP_HOME}/mcp-gateway/logs:/app/logs
+      - ${APP_HOME}/mcp-gateway/auth_server/scopes.yml:/app/auth_server/scopes.yml
+      - ${APP_HOME}/mcp-gateway/ssl:/etc/ssl:ro
     depends_on:
       - auth-server
       - metrics-service
@@ -73,7 +73,7 @@ services:
       - "9465:9465"  # Prometheus metrics endpoint
     volumes:
       - metrics-db-data:/var/lib/sqlite
-      - ${HOME}/mcp-gateway/logs:/app/logs
+      - ${APP_HOME}/mcp-gateway/logs:/app/logs
     depends_on:
       - metrics-db
     restart: unless-stopped
@@ -118,8 +118,8 @@ services:
     ports:
       - "8888:8888"
     volumes:
-      - ${HOME}/mcp-gateway/logs:/app/logs
-      - ${HOME}/mcp-gateway/auth_server/scopes.yml:/app/scopes.yml
+      - ${APP_HOME}/mcp-gateway/logs:/app/logs
+      - ${APP_HOME}/mcp-gateway/auth_server/scopes.yml:/app/scopes.yml
     restart: unless-stopped
 
   # Current Time MCP Server
@@ -147,7 +147,7 @@ services:
       - PORT=8001
       - SECRET_KEY=${SECRET_KEY}
     volumes:
-      - ${HOME}/mcp-gateway/secrets/fininfo/:/app/fininfo/
+      - ${APP_HOME}/mcp-gateway/secrets/fininfo/:/app/fininfo/
     ports:
       - "8001:8001"
     restart: unless-stopped
@@ -165,9 +165,9 @@ services:
       - REGISTRY_USERNAME=${ADMIN_USER:-admin}
       - REGISTRY_PASSWORD=${ADMIN_PASSWORD}
     volumes:
-      - ${HOME}/mcp-gateway/servers:/app/registry/servers
-      - ${HOME}/mcp-gateway/models:/app/registry/models
-      - ${HOME}/mcp-gateway/auth_server/scopes.yml:/app/auth_server/scopes.yml
+      - ${APP_HOME}/mcp-gateway/servers:/app/registry/servers
+      - ${APP_HOME}/mcp-gateway/models:/app/registry/models
+      - ${APP_HOME}/mcp-gateway/auth_server/scopes.yml:/app/auth_server/scopes.yml
     ports:
       - "8003:8003"
     depends_on:
diff --git a/registry/core/nginx_service.py b/registry/core/nginx_service.py
index e2bcc6d..bb1ccca 100644
--- a/registry/core/nginx_service.py
+++ b/registry/core/nginx_service.py
@@ -209,9 +209,15 @@ async def generate_config_async(self, servers: Dict[str, Dict[str, Any]]) -> boo
 
             # Replace placeholders in template
             config_content = template_content.replace("{{LOCATION_BLOCKS}}", "\n".join(location_blocks))
+            # Only include EC2_PUBLIC_DNS in server_name if it exists
+            if ec2_public_dns:
+                config_content = config_content.replace("{{EC2_PUBLIC_DNS}}", ec2_public_dns)
+            else:
+                # Remove the placeholder entirely if EC2_PUBLIC_DNS is empty
+                config_content = config_content.replace(" {{EC2_PUBLIC_DNS}}", "")
+                config_content = config_content.replace("{{EC2_PUBLIC_DNS}}", "")
             config_content = config_content.replace("{{ADDITIONAL_SERVER_NAMES}}", additional_server_names)
             config_content = config_content.replace("{{ANTHROPIC_API_VERSION}}", api_version)
-
             # Write config file
             with open(settings.nginx_config_path, "w") as f:
                 f.write(config_content)